It was now quarter to twelve. Only fifteen minutes are left of the day and Vinny is still pretending that he hasn't discovered his soulmate. Usually, he wouldn't care about what people thought of him but when it comes to his parents, he did care.
After the initial shock of getting over the fact that his soulmate was male, he started worrying more and more about his mum and dad.
If he was finding this tricky to deal with, they most likely will too. But they might understand and maybe help him through it, Although, he wasn't prepared to take that chance.
What is he going to do? How can he hide this overnight? He won't be able to stay separated from this guy. His parents will surely know. But he was prepared to keep on pretending, just until he was more used to it and ready to tell people.
In other words, his parents.
"What will happen if the Master's soulmate doesn't turn up?" Oliver heard one person ask as he put empty glasses into the dishwasher.
"Maybe they got it wrong?" Another person questioned.
"Can you imagine being the Master's soulmate? He's so hot." By this time, Oliver zoned out. He hoped that the Master found his soulmate. He must be worried that she hasn't turned up by now.
There was a lot of staff in the kitchen as most of the guests had gone home, even the young females. Oliver thought they would, at least, stay until midnight so they know for sure it isn't them.
That's what he would've done anyway.
"Ollie, can you offer the Vanderwood's some more drinks?" A guy asked, snapping him out of his thoughts.
"Sure," He smiled. Everyone looked exhausted. They had been working since half eight in the morning and bed was long overdue.
Oliver got a selection of drinks. He placed wine, beer, water, orange juice and apple juice on his tray and headed back out and into the big hall.
There were a few people still hanging around but the event was pretty much finished. The lights had come back on and the music was turned down. Oliver looked around at all the rubbish, knowing he would be cleaning it up tomorrow.
He spotted the Alpha, female Alpha and the Master standing next to a table. The Master looked a little lost. His expression was still emotionless but his eyes almost looked a bit sad.
Oliver felt bad for him but he still had ten minutes left.
"Would you like a drink?" He asked while trying so hard to keep in a yawn. The Alpha ignored him but female Alpha took some water. He turned to the Master who was staring intensely at the table. Was he okay?
"Son, do you want something to drink?" Duke asked. His parents were now worried. How could she not be here yet? The day is so closely at its end. What would they do if he was left with no one?
"No, I'm fine," He mumbled while his gaze wandered to Oliver's feet.
Just a glimpse of him made his heart burst in his chest.
"Would you like anything to eat Vinny?" Madison asked. They could see the clear worry in his eyes.
They didn't know how to comfort him. How could they tell him that it was all fine when in fact, it wasn't. They had no idea why this was happening.
He shook his head and tried to turn the other way.
His soulmate was standing right there. He wanted nothing more than to grab his hand and connect that bond. He wanted to feel how smooth and warm his skin was. He wanted to look up to those big soft eyes and see the love in them too, but he couldn't, and it was killing him.
It was still strange for him to think that about another male but he was surprising himself by how much he was trying to accept it. Maybe it was because the love was just so overpowering, he had no other choice but to accept it.
Oliver turned and walked back to the kitchen. His only thought was getting home. Today felt like the longest day in history and he couldn't wait to get into bed.
As he walked back into the kitchen, he checked the time.
Six minutes left.
Oliver sighed while putting his tray down and rubbing his eyes. He helped the kitchen staff clean the worktops and wash the dishes, getting ready for tomorrow. Everyone couldn't wait to leave, but the excitement of the Master was still floating in the air.
"Like seriously, what if he doesn't find her?" A girl asked.
"I'll speak with Alpha soon to find out what's going on," Desmond said smugly, making everyone roll their eyes. They know fine well he would never ask, he just likes to act like the Vanderwood's value his importance because they put him in charge.
He was always annoyingly good at what he does, which is more annoying when that person is incredibly big-headed. But now that he's in charge, all Desmond is good at is shouting and throwing orders. He's a nightmare to work with and Oliver tries to avoid him as much as he can.
Just then, the door to the big hall opened and the Alpha walked in.
"Okay, I can see a few tired faces here. Thank you all for staying this late and you can now go home and get some sleep," Duke said with an altering smile. Oliver looked at the clock, it was one minute past midnight. "For those of you who are working tomorrow, your pay will be doubled for tomorrow's duties only." He then tiredly turned and headed back into the big hall.
Oliver slowly followed the rest of the workers out of the kitchen and down the grand halls. As usual, he paid attention to the things they had on the walls and cabinets. He liked the history of this place and he liked how many memories were probably made here. It was homely. Which is surprising because of its size.
As he approached the cloakroom, he waited for a little while until a lot of people had left. He was too tired to push through people to get to his coat.
Charles had already gone to sleep.
He lives in the mansion as a personal butler. If the Vanderwood's have a problem during the night, they go to him. So there was no one to organise the chaos.
When there was room, Oliver put on his coat, boots, and gloves. He was not looking forwards to the walk home. He only lives a mile away but it'll be freezing and probably really icy. He was quite glad that his dad will be waiting up for him when he get's in, but he felt bad because he also had work tomorrow.
There was nothing Oliver could've done to persuade him to go to bed. His dad just worries about him.
Oliver was the last member of staff to leave the building. As he opened the door, he was quite surprised to see no news reporters or photographers outside. They must have been told that nothing happened and left. Poor Master. All that hype for nothing. Oliver couldn't imagine how lonely he probably felt. Even though the Master likes his own company and hates to socialise, he still must be feeling pretty down that he didn't find his true love.
He then pushed those thoughts out of his mind and concentrated on getting home without slipping over.
* * * * *
Vinny was still standing at the table. He was aware that it was past midnight and his dad had told the staff to leave, but he was also aware that his soulmate would be making his way home and he wouldn't be able to cope unless he could get close for the night.
"Are you alright my love?" Madison asked as she rubbed his back. Her son had been staring into space for almost ten minutes now. His parents were clearly worried about it and Vinny could settle their minds by telling them that it's okay, he found his soulmate, he isn't going to be alone forever. But then he would tell them that his soulmate was another guy and they would freak out. He could see it playing out like that in his head and would rather keep them worried, instead of hating him.
Without a word, he turned and walked towards the door. He needed to find his soulmate.
Vinny headed straight towards the cloakroom. As expected, it was busy as everyone was tired and ready to leave. He was silent and nobody had noticed him standing, quietly watching in the shadows.
His eyes found his soulmate straight away. His lover was standing tiredly while he waited for the cloakroom to empty. As Vinny watched him, he noticed that his soulmate was probably a few inches shorter than him. They looked to be the same weight and almost the same build but the vampire was more muscular. He had brown hair with natural patches of blonde that blended well together. His eyes were big, sparkly and green. They stood out against his slightly tanned skin and Vinny had to keep looking away otherwise he found himself getting sucked into their beauty.
He found it harder and harder to resist walking straight up to him and revealing his feelings. But he had to stay strong. He needed to wait until this had sunk in properly.
When his soulmate left, Vinny silently followed. He was extremely thankful to see no one waiting to take his picture or trying to force him into talking for an interview. They must have got bored or something.
He would think of an excuse to tell his parents about where he has been in the morning. But for now, all he concentrated on was the boy who he was following home.